BLOG TOUR: TYLER & STELLA BY HEIDI JOY TRETHWAY (EXCERPT)

When the biggest story of her fledgling career as a music journalist nearly ruins her relationship with her best friend, Stella has one chance to redeem herself. Tyler Walsh could be that chance.

Stella promises the bassist for the rock band Tattoo Thief anything in exchange for behind-the-scenes access. But Tyler doesn’t want anything. He wants everything—and that’s more than Stella is prepared to give.

When Tyler’s explosive secret thrusts Stella into the media spotlight, she must choose between the selling the story and telling the truth—and exposing the truth about herself as well.

Tyler & Stella (Tattoo Thief #2) is a sizzling story of lust, lies, and sacrifice, revealing how much love can forgive.

An Excerpt:

Setup: Aspiring music
journalist Stella Ramsey tried to get an exclusive interview with Tyler Walsh,
bassist for the rock band Tattoo Thief, but it ended badly. She wants to forget
the whole awkward, sexy encounter, but at the next concert she covers, Tyler is
there—making a guest appearance with Felix Crow and his band, The Ruins.

A strong, stark guitar solo kicks off the next song and
Tyler plays at the front of the stage, walking so close to the edge that the
journalists and photographers could reach out and touch his shoes.

“Let’s give it up for Tyler Walsh from Tattoo Thief, joining
us tonight on bass!” Felix whips the crowd into a frenzy as Tyler teases sounds
from his instrument that sound like they’ve never been played before.

Tyler’s a good showman, connecting with the audience at
every level from the front row to those in the far back, and he works his way
across the stage from left to right.

I’m mesmerized by his fingers, by the way his whole body
engages in this dance with his instrument. His hips buck, his back arches, and
his arms flex with effort as he plays.

It’s one of the most erotic displays I’ve ever seen and my
knees nearly buckle when he stops in front of me, still playing, taking the
melody to a perfect high.

I hear a boosh and silver sparks jet from twin canisters on
each side of the stage, the first in what I imagine will be a massive display
of pyrotechnics. It won’t be long now. When this band is done playing, people
will stay in the park and party beneath fireworks lit from the waiting barges
in the East River.

Tyler throws his head back and plays the final notes of his
solo and I want to reach out and touch him. No, I need to touch him. My neck
hurts from craning to look up at him so long and I’m exhausted from the sweaty night,
but I can’t look away.

When the band transitions to a ballad, Tyler remains where
he is, his body looser than when he played the intense solo. His posture shifts
and his eyes seek me again as he steps toward a microphone to add his voice to
the chorus.

Felix Crow belts out a line and Tyler and the rest of The
Ruins lean into the chorus. Tyler’s eyes never leave me.

Threads become a rope

And lies become a
story

Innocence lost

I came to tell you
sorry

Too late.

The rope, the knot,
the noose, the loss

Bound up tight, I come
undone

Truth is the cure but
a bitter medicine

What’s broken can mend

Love that’s lost can
be found again.

I squirm under Tyler’s direct gaze as he sings about second
chances. He could be singing to me, or maybe it’s all in my stupidly hopeful
brain.

Emphasis on stupid. I filed a bland little story about
Tattoo Thief’s practice space yesterday but Heath hasn’t published it. I didn’t
write anything bad about Gavin, Beryl, Tyler or anyone from Tattoo Thief.

I also didn’t write a story that mattered. And for that, I hate myself a little. I let him get under
my skin and he got exactly what he wanted.

I hate that my body is betraying me, stirring with yearning
for a guy I met barely forty-eight hours ago. Tyler’s brown eyes narrow with
intensity as he looks at me. My skin blisters with need and I want to believe
that I’m not the only one affected by this chemistry.

I drag my eyes away from him and will myself to look at
something else. I’ve never believed in love at first sight, only lust. You
can’t possibly take one look at a person and know you love them.

Can you want to bang the hell out of them? Sure. But fall
for them? No way.

I lock eyes with Tyler again as he performs. Somehow in this
chaos we’ve created a quiet little connection held together only with our eyes.

The rest of the crowd falls away behind me, the lights blur
behind Tyler, and I find myself cataloging the little tiny things about him
that I want to believe only I notice.

He’s missing the third button on his shirt. His fingernails
are short and square. His shoes are new and his hair has some kind of product
in it but it still flops around. His shirt flaps open to reveal two small,
shining silver studs on either side of his nipples.

My brain spins—he’s pierced. That visual sends a bolt
straight to my core. Add that to the tattoos and the rock band and the attitude
and put a fork in me. I’m done. If I
were here as just a fangirl, I’d be throwing my panties at Tyler right now.

That’s the last thought in my head when a blinding flash of
pain explodes behind my eyes.

Find out what’s
happened to Stella at the concert and how Tyler must rescue her in Tyler
& Stella.

Heidi Joy Trethway Bio:

Heidi Joy lives in Happy Valley off Sunnyside Road. She swears she did not make that up.

Heidi’s obsessed with storytelling. Her career includes marketing, journalism, and a delicious few years as a food columnist. Media passes took her backstage with several rock bands, where she learned that sometimes a wardrobe malfunction is exactly what the rock star intends.

You’ll most often find Heidi Joy with her husband and two small kids cooking, fishing, exploring the Northwest, and building epic forts in their living room.